BOWEL cancer test kits will be sent out to everyone with symptoms of the disease under new guidance.
The FIT kits, championed by The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign, which was spearheaded by Dame Deborah James, will help reduce colonoscopy waiting times, health bosses said.
Previously, some people with symptoms were referred immediately for the procedure, meaning they would have to wait months for the all clear.
The new guidance, from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, means they will be able to get a test instead — allowing them to avoid a colonoscopy if they are negative.
Mark Chapman, of NICE, said: “Recommending FIT in primary care could identify people who are most likely to have a condition that would be detected by colonoscopy.
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“Introducing it as an initial test will also mean that those who are unlikely to have colorectal cancer may avoid having a colonoscopy, and those more likely to have it can be prioritised.
“We hope this will reduce waiting times because fewer people will be receiving a colonoscopy they don’t need.
“These recommendations ensure we are balancing the best care with value for money, while at the same time delivering both for individuals and society as a whole.”
Bowel cancer is the UK’s the UK’s second deadliest cancer, claiming 16,500 lives each year.
But it can be cured if it’s caught early enough.
More than nine in ten patients will live five years or longer if it’s spotted early and treated swiftly.
Colonoscopy capacity is limited, and there are sometimes long wait times, health bosses said.
Using FIT could reduce the number of people referred for one, and so reduce the waiting times.
The tests cost between £4 and £5 per sample, and can correctly identify about 9 out of 10 people with colorectal cancer.
They are designed to detect early-stage bowel cancer by picking up traces of blood in just a single gram of poo.
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Samples are sent to a lab in the post and results are usually available within a week.